Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I had indicated that I was going to ask a question. Mr. O'Neill stated that the UK looks for the ability to set out its own migration policy. That is something that Mr. O'Neill has dealt with in his own paper. Freedom of movement is one of the four freedoms of the European Union and it is a crucially important freedom. I would not want, and I do not think that any members, as EU citizens, would want that provision to be watered down by way of a deal. I was struck in particular by the British Prime Minister's comments in China yesterday when she spoke about their being a different level of access for EU citizens post the transition period. I think that is a most unhelpful remark by her and is probably or may be playing towards the hard wing of her party, particularly over the political differences that have come to the fore in the past week. In advance of the phase two negotiations that seems to be hardening of that stance. I would not accept both as a Member of the Oireachtas and an EU citizen that we could enter into an arrangement that would effectively mean we will allow Britain to restrict the freedom of movement of EU citizens because of any deal we would do with it. Immigration and migration was the issue, not global Britain. A person in Sunderland was not worried about Britain increasing its trade with China. Again, Mr O'Neill is asking how we square that circle.

Both Mr. O'Neill and Ms Daughen have consistently and rightly mentioned that although the UK is our number one trading partner we have diversified greatly and are not nearly as reliant on trade with Britain, but do they remind the British as well that we are their fifth biggest market and that we run a trade deficit with the British too? I have been at pains to remind colleagues in Britain and some are astonished at that fact. I watched Boris Johnson last year berating an audience in India, saying that the UK was doing more trade with Ireland than they were with India but that is a reality. How do British business and politics react to that? We need to rebalance that. We need to have a position to come out as a partner and not as a junior partner, in that we need them but they also need us.

I will leave it at that, but there are so many other points we could raise. I thank Mr. O'Neill and Ms Daughen.